During the Predator Masters Hunt and Convention a New Mexico Game and Fish Dept. officer conducted a short talk on game laws and regulations. During his talk he spoke about coyotes being considered unprotected wildlife and laws regarding hunting on State lands. He also mentioned the ability to hunt coyotes on a NR 4-day small game license after the terms of the license have expired.

During the convention, I spoke with a number of participants and received varying degrees of understanding regarding these laws. So, I made contact with the New Mexico Law Enforcement Division to clarify the laws. Here are the responses I received:

Non- Resident hunting of coyotes on BLM & USFS lands:

For Non-residents, a temp small game license is good to hunt non- game like coyotes until the actual expiration date for the license year which will be March 31 (this is usually found on the top of the license and should state 4-1-2011 to 3-31-2012) and no other license or agreement is necessary for BLM or USFS lands.

State Land Hunting of Coyotes:

Accessing state land is different than hunting on BLM or USFS land and there are a few more factors to consider.

State Land is not open to the public like BLM/USFS lands and requires the proper permitting/approval.

NMDGF easement allows - A person to access state land via NMDGF/SLO agreement if they are holding a valid license for hunting or trapping (for protected species) during the period of take (so your 4 day non-game license would only be good for the period of take – 4 days). However a licensed hunter (non-resident or resident) or trapper with a valid furbearer license may hunt coyotes when they hold this license but only during the period of take.

So, if you wanted the greatest access to hunt coyotes on state land then a non-resident furbearer license ($345) would be required/best and would go to 3-31-2012 for raccoon with and additional time frame extension of May 15, 2012 for raccoon hunting because of the way the season is set but you would have to buy a new furbearer license that begins for the period 04-1-2012 to continue to the May 15 time.

Additionally, a State Land Lessee may allow you to access their lease but that would be for the purposes of assisting them in agricultural activities like hunting coyotes to reduce predator numbers and general concerns of livestock depredation. However, they also have some responsibility to protect the land from waste and trespass, so if you want to access state land outside of hunting season-like the deer hunt = deer license/season date requirements, then you could only do this with a lessee’s permission and only on their specific lease. If you decide to go this route, you should get this permission-allowance in writing from them and have it in your possession (and any hunting license, even your temp small game license will be fine until the 03-31-2012 expiration).

Hope this helps in clarifying these specific laws.Good hunting,Krittr Callr